Songs: Blue Christmas Lights, Sleigh Ride, In The Bleak Midwinter, Christmas Story, All I Want For Christmas, Ring The Bells At Midnight, Christmas Is Coming To Town, Bring A Torch Jeanette Isabella, I'll Be Home For Christmas, On A Quiet Night, The Last Month Of The Year, Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday, Christmas Song, Merry Christmas From The Family

Personnel: Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen, Sam Bush, Mollie O'Brien, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, The Lonesome River Band, Kathy Kallick and the Little Big Band, The Laurel Canyon Ramblers, Chris Thile, Brother Boys, Psychograss, The Fairfield Four, Don Dixon & Marti Jones, Chesapeake, Robert Earl Keen

It's that time of year again, folks, when the sound of Christmas carols are in the air and on the airwaves, and you just can't get enough of White Christmas, The Little Drummer Boy, and Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer. Or, if you're like me, you're going to scream if you hear one more version of any of these songs. Yet on the other hand, if you do like listening to holiday songs but are into something new, and for the most part, different, Sugar Hill is here with their second offering of holiday treats called Tinsel Tunes.

Essentially a sequel to the previously released Sugar Hill collection from two years back called Sugar Plums, Tinsel Tunes, save for repeats Mollie O'Brien and Jerry Douglas, showcases 14 other acts on their fine roster of talent, with a mix of bluegrass, country, soul, gospel, swing, novelty, and instrumental music. There is something old, something new, something borrowed from, and even something blue on this mostly non-traditional list of holiday offerings.

Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen start off Tinsel Tunes with the Buck Owens classic Blue Christmas Lights, followed by Sam Bush's instrumental take on Sleigh Ride. Mollie O'Brien sings In The Bleak Midwinter a hauntingly beautiful version of another traditional song with just Jerry Douglas's dobro as accompaniment, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band waltzes in with an original song done with their usual heavenly harmonies. The Lonesome River Band offers a country carol, Kathy Kallick sings a slow pretty ditty called Ring The Bells, and the Laurel Canyon Ramblers add a bluegrass touch to an original called Christmas Is Coming To Town. There are two more instrumentals, one by Chris Thile, a young mandolinist who plays a duet with guitarist Scott Nygaard, and one by Psychograss. Chesapeake swings with an original song, The Fairfield Four team up with the Nashville Bluegrass Band on a gospel song that features ten voices and no instruments, there is a duet by the Brother Boys, and even an R & B song by Don Dixon and Marti Jones. Finishing the CD is Robert Earl Keen's classic hilarious Merry Christmas From The Family, a possible alternate title to this eclectic recording of holiday gifts from the Sugar Hill family.

So, break with tradition, and spend Christmas with some friends you've been listening to all year. Or better yet, slip a copy of Tinsel Tunes into someone's stocking, and Yule be sure to make someone else's Christmas very merry, indeed. Oh yeah, and watch out for those low-flying reindeer...